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FORSTERK-Forsterkningsmidler

Promoting RUNIN (The Role of Universities in Innovation and Regional Development) in Norway

Alternative title: Promoting RUNIN (The Role of Universities in Innovation and Regional Development) in Norway

Awarded: NOK 0.77 mill.

Societal stakeholders expect universities to help solve society’s problems and contribute to the development of places in which they are located. Universities can promote innovation and economic development by collaborating and transferring new knowledge to societal actors. However, universities are different and operate in varied regions. Hence, not all universities can perform this role to an equal degree. It is important to understand how universities in different regions' societal engagement contribute to the region’s development. The project “Promoting the Role of Universities in Innovation and Regional Development in Norway” seeks to assist Norway strengthen its universities’ regional engagement role. By using both traditional and new media channels, the project publicizes and transfers fresh evidence gathered across Europe from the RUNIN project funded under Horizon 2020 to key stakeholders in Norway.

The dissemination of the RUNIN project’s results has provided new insights and deepened the knowledge of university administrators, and policymakers in the diverse roles universities perform to enhance economic and societal development. Presenting new evidence from other countries in Europe, the project succeeded in showcasing best examples of universities contribution to regional renewal, industrial innovation policy and societal engagement. Bringing researchers, administrators and policy makers together to brainstorm on how best the results and policy insights from research results of the project can be transferred to the Norwegian context, it also created synergy learning and exchange of best practices among the stakeholders. These engagements have provided new empirical evidence that can serve as inputs in some policy reports that are currently being prepared by Universities Norway (UHR). For instance, research findings on university-industry collaboration are expected to inform the UHR as they prepare a strategy report to help Norway achieve the goal of increasing industry’s R&D to 2% GDP. On the whole, the dissemination project has made a modest contribution to enhancing Norway’s innovativeness and competitiveness by facilitating the learning of best practices from its peers in Europe. RUNIN project's results have deepened the knowledge of university administrators and policymakers on how universities enhance regional and societal development. The project showcased best examples of universities' roles in regional renewal, industrial innovation and societal engagement from other European countries. The project also facilitated synergy, learning and exchange of best practices among researchers, administrators and policymakers in Norway. The project's findings can inform some policy reports by Universities Norway (UHR), such as the strategy report to help Norway increase industry's R&D to 2% GDP. The dissemination project has thus contributed to Norway's innovativeness and competitiveness by learning from its peers in Europe.

The urge to shift to a knowledge-based economy has put universities in a key role as producers and transmitters of new knowledge through their research activities, training of highly qualified human capital and founding of new firms that constitute critical sources for innovation and regional development. Therefore, universities are expected to contribute to the regions in which they are located and societies they are embedded in through various mechanisms, which leads to the intensification of collaborations and networks with relevant stakeholders including public organizations, industrial actors, citizens, other research institutions, among others. The H2020 project “The Role of Universities in Innovation and Regional Development (RUNIN)” aimed at exploring the processes of these interactions based on four pillars: ‘People and Networks’, ‘Policies and Interventions’, ‘Places and Territories’ and ‘Practices and Governance’. The RUNIN consortium, including universities and local/regional organizations, has created a valuable body of knowledge on the contributions of universities to innovation and regional development from different parts of Europe that are transferable to Norway. In line with this, the aim of the proposed project is to disseminate the knowledge generated through research conducted in the RUNIN project to a broader Norwegian audience, with an emphasis on academic partners and governmental organizations in Norway, and to promote a higher visibility for the role of universities in innovation and regional development at the national level.

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Funding scheme:

FORSTERK-Forsterkningsmidler

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